Apparatus for washing automobiles and other vehicles.



(W9, Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

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APPARATUS FOR WASHING AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22. I914.

I,158,79. Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

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WILLIAM F. SAUNDERS, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS non WASHING AUTOMOBILE-SAND ornnn VEHICLES.

fissure.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Uct. as, rare.

Application filed September 22, 1914. Serial No. 863,018. 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM F. SAUN- nnns, citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Washing Automobiles and other Vehicles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has for its object the production of a new and improved washer for automobiles and the like which is particularly adapted for garage purposes.

Heretofore so far as known to me a socalled rotary washer has been commonly employed. This consists of a horizontal pipe or arm which is pivotally connected at one end to a water supply pipe andwhich is connected at the other end with a flexible hose, the pivot point being located over the car. such that it cannot be easily manipulated in order to get at all parts of a large motor car or truck. The horizontal arm or "pipe if made long enough to cause the hoseto clear thecar at both ends and sides renders the washer impracticable because the arm extends out so far beyond the sides of the car as to interfere with an adjoining machine. Furthermore, the weight of the hose on an arm of any length causes leakage at the pivotal point due to the strain and this results in damage to the car as the water drips directly into the car. It has been found necessary, therefore, to make the horizontal arm relatively short in order to lesson the strain at the pivot, but even in this case the washer when subjected to the amount of wear and tear to which washers in garages or in like places are subjected tends to leak at the pivotal point or causes the water supply pipe to break unless very strongly supported. Furthermore, the hose when being dragged around the ends of the car inevitably drags over and scratches the top and sides of the car, especially if it isa limousine or closed car. Also the hose must be of such a length that it drags on the cemented floor when not in use and is thereby worn out in a short time.

The object of my invention is to do away with the rotary principle and produce, a device which does not necessitate the hose being rotated about a given point but which can be moved back and forth in a straight The construction of this washer isthe hose entirely out of contact with the car and thereoy also permitting the hose to be of such a length that it will not come in contact with the floor.

My invention will be fully understood from the following description taken in con- 1160131011, with the accompanying drawings and the novel features thereof will be clearly defined and set forth in theclaims at the close of the specification.

- In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved washer embodying my invention, illustrating the manner of its use in washing a car. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showingthe position of the carriage moved back to center as it will be when the free end of the hose is dropped. Fig. 3 is an end elevation showing two sets of apparatus, one at each side of the car.

I Having reference to the drawings,there is shown at 11 a horizontal track which is secured to the wall or ceiling or other fixed structure and which is adapted to sustain a movable carriage 12. The carriage 12 may be of any well known form of construction but preferably consists of a frame 13 supported at each end on wheels 14. At the center of the frame 13 is a depending member 15. The depending or supporting member 15 carries a horizontal pipe 16 which is provided on each end with an elbow member 17. l

A water pipe 18 which is connected with the main water supply extends horizontally below the track 11 and is provided with a connection 19 at a point which is preferably at one side of the track and about midway of the opposite ends of the track. A flexible pipe 20 is secured at one end to the connection 19 and at the other end to one of the elbows 17 of the pipe 16 on the carriage 12. This flexible pipe 20 should be of such a length as to permit the carriage 12 to move from one end of the track 11 to the other, the track 11 being in turn suiiiciently long to extend preferably slightly beyond the ends of an automobile or other vehicle which is situated on the wash stand. The connection 19 being at the middle of the entire length of travel of the carriage, the flexible pipe 20 need be only about one half the length of the travel of the carriage. The

other elbow 17 from that to which the flexible pipe 20 isconnected is connected with a flexible hose 21 which is of such length that it extends almost to the floor but is not long enough to comein contact with it.

The carriage 12 runs readily back and forth on the track and follows the movements of the person washing the car without conscious effort on the part of the person doing the washing. As the pipe section 16 is at right angles to the pipe 18 and preferably rigid the flexible pipe 20 and the hose 21 are at all times kept from rubbing contact with each other. When the person washing the car lets go the flexible hose 21 the mere weight of the hose 20 will cause it to sag in the middle as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and cause the carriage 12 to be moved to the center of the track 11 thus leaving the hose in a convenient position for use.

A. shut-off 22' is provided having a depending cord 2 1 secured to one end. This allows the person washing the car to readily shut off the water when through using the device. 7

The track 11 is secured at one side of the stand as shown in Fig. 1 it being my object to employ a similar device at the other side, as shown in Fig. 3. Each device may be employed to wash one side of the car and each end of it. Where a number of wash stands are located side by side as is commonly the case in garages, each washer by being 10- cated between two parallel cars will enable the washing of the adjoining sides and ends of two adjacent cars. Theflexible hose is at all times away from the cars so that they arenot scratched or injured in any way and there is no leakage into the ears as commonly occurs in the rotary device. Furthermore, as stated before the hose is at all times out of contact with. the cement floor and therefore is not subjected to any wear from that source which will cause it'to last much longer. I have found that my device has reduced much of the time and strength which it has been necessary to expend heretofore.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for washing automobiles and other vehicles, consisting of an overhead water supply pipe, an overhead track, a' carriage movable on said track, a short water pipe section suspended rigidly from the said carriage and extending in a line transversely Copies of this patent may be obtained for carriage and suspended transverse pipe each having a range of'travel in a straight line for equal distances on the two opposite sides of the said point of connection of said first flexible hose with the supply pipe, the said transverse pipe traveling with the carriage and maintaining the said two flexible. hose pipes on opposite sides of the path of travel of the carriage during the travel.

2. An apparatus for washing automobiles and other vehicles consisting of an overhead water supply pipe, an overhead horizontal track parallel with the said pipe, a carriage movable on said track, a horizontal short water pipe rigidly suspended from the said carriage and extending transversely of the line of direction of said track, a flexible hose of a length equal to substantially one half of the desired length of travel of the carriage, one end of said hose having a connection with said water supply pipe intermediate the two terminal points of the travel of the carriage, the other end of said hose having connection with one end of said transverse pipe and a second flexible hose one end of which is connected with the other end of said transverse pipe of such length that when hanging free it will clear the floor, so that the said carriage and said suspended transverse pipe each have a range of travel in a straight line for equal distances on the two opposite sides of said point of connection of the said flexible hose with the supply pipe, the said transverse pipe maintaining WILLIAM F. SAUNDERS.

lVitnesses:

HERBERT A. PALMER, WILLIAM A. COPELAND.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. 0. 

